I invite every member to become involved in this great democratic exercise that will shape the Union for
years to come. And here’s why:
At the last National Convention, delegates mandated the National Executive Board to review the Union’s
structure:
“The National Executive Board (NEB) will, within 6 months after the 2008 national convention, appoint
a small independent third party group to conduct a review of the union's structure, finances, meetings,
procedures and services.”
The Board unanimously agreed to an approach that it believes abides by the spirit and intent of the above
resolution.
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT WORKING COMMITTEE (IWC)
An independent working committee (IWC) has been struck under the direction of Sister
Nycole Turmel, who served as President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)
from 2000 to 2006. She will be assisted in her work by Beverly Burke and Peter
Larson.
The members of this committee bring together extensive experience in the labour movement and have worked
directly with several unions. They are bilingual and well acquainted with our orientation as a
participatory social union.
AN APPROACH THAT ENSURES THE INVOLVEMENT OF ALL UNION LEVELS
The Board has adopted a timeline that will allow every level of the Union to get involved in the
review. This will be a three-phase review:
Phase 1: Preparation, compilation of general
information, meetings with Board and other Union members who have been directly involved in the Union’s
work.
Phase 2: Large-scale consultation of membership using
surveys, focus groups, meetings, submissions, etc. – Review of other similar organizational structures –
Analysis of CUPW’s financial structure and various decision-making processes.
Phase 3: Preparation of the IWC’s report for submission
to the National Executive Board.
The three phases of the review will extend from December 2008 to February
2010. The IWC will submit progress reports to the National Executive Board, which will then update the
membership.
The National Executive Board has decided that IWC’s work will be coordinated by the National
President.
CUPW MEMBERS WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD AT CONVENTION
The final report will be submitted to the National Executive Board and to CUPW locals before the end of
March 2010. This will give the entire Union the time required to study and debate the report before the
2011 Convention.
